You may have heard that the winner of Bumbershoot Headliner Zedd’s I Want You To Know remix contest has been announced, but have you heard that he’s from the Northwest? That’s right. The champion of Guitar Center’s “Cover Me” contest is none other than a Lakewood native by the name of Tyler Acord. It’s possible that you may know him as Scout of the band Issues. Though this is the first that many in the EDM-sphere are hearing of Scout, he’s no stranger to the scene. Issues just won Artist of the Year at the APMAs and is direct opening for metalcore band Bring Me The Horizon on their tour this fall.
Scout attended Tacoma School of the Arts to learn music theory and hone his songwriting and production skills. Next he went to Cornish College of the Arts wherein his mission to make better beats he became interested in Jazz harmony. Through his connections at Cornish he ended up landing an internship down in LA and headed down there with $450 to his name. He worked at Staples during the day and would work at the studio at night. At one point his boss allowed him to finish up a session with none other than Skrillex, and eventually Scout became an engineer.
If you’re interested in learning more about Scout’s journey up until 2015, there’s a mini-documentary titled “Shut Up And Hustle” by CreativeLive that you can check out on Alternative Press’ website. He details the road from his education to meeting former Woe, Is Me member Tyler Carter to the formation of Issues, all the way up to Scout’s decision to take a break from touring this year. This time around, Scout has stayed home to work on writing and producing the band’s sophomore album due out at the end of the year. In an article with AP that announced his break from touring he let us in on what his New Year’s resolution was.
“I’m gonna focus more on my long term goals and become a harder and faster worker.”
It looks to us like he’s doing just fine at reaching those goals. His remix of I Want You To Know has won him a meeting with Interscope Records, studio time with Zedd in LA, a mentoring session with Blood Company (Zedd’s management team), a feature with Insomniac, a VIP experience at Nocturnal Wonderland, a write-up in DJ Mag, and $10,000 cash prize, as well as new gear from 8DM, GoPro, Native Instruments, Pioneer, PSC, and Roland. JACKPOT.
Not that it’s a typical case, but Skrillex started out in From First To Last and ended up being, well, SKRILLEX. No matter where Scout started from, he truly has a style all his own that shines through in his solo work as well as his work with Issues. Pay attention, ladies and gentlemen. We may have just met the next big thing, and he’s made in the Northwest.
What do you think of Scout’s remix? If you like it, you can pick it up on iTunes through its official release on Interscope Records on September 4.
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